A Night To Think On
by Genis Irving
Summary: Taking a break at Meltokio, Zelos invites the group to a party at his mansion, and to their surprise he’s also invited his adoring fans... Neither Lloyd nor Zelos expected where the night would lead. Shonen Ai LloydZelos, onesided GenisLloyd
1. First Encounter

Title: A Night To Think Upon  
Fanfiction Of: Tales of Symphonia  
Author: Zelloss  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Like, Tales of Symphonia isn't mine. Sorry! Though I wish I owned Genis. And Mithos. And Zelos. And Lloyd. Because then they'd all be romantically intertwined! . This is a side-story that never happened in ToS and I doubt it ever could happen. If you think the characters are off, keep in mind this is MY story, in which I'm writing to MY views, and though they might not truly be the exact same as in ToS, they are exactly as I view them.  
Warnings: Shonen-Ai – that means it's a love thing between two males! If you can't handle it, screw off!  
Summary: Taking a break at Meltokio, Zelos invites the group to a party at his mansion, and to their surprise he's also invited his adoring fans... Neither Lloyd nor Zelos expected where the night would lead (Lloyd/Zelos)  
Spoilers: Not really! . If you've read the summary and the title, everything you need to know has been spoiled.

A/N: I know I'm 'The Genis/Lloyd Fanboy', but I decided to break form and try out a couple other ToS pairings – the other story I'm writing right now also isn't Genis/Lloyd but it's just as cute [and even more supported by the game], but you wouldn't expect the pairing... all I can say is there isn't another like it on FF to date. Anyway, I got the weirdest idea for this fic out of nowhere, or at least I can't remember the inspiration for this twisted thought.  
P.S.: This story is actually censored and cut... If you want the completely uncensored version (Which rates at NC-17), give me your e-mail in your review or drop me a line and I'll link you to it! . Remember, NC-17 means no viewing below 17... it's not for minors!  
P.P.S.: This story is a one-shot thing – Meaning the chances of me continuing it are slim to none, but if you REALLY want me to write another chapter or a sequel or whatever, drop me a line and if I get enough response I'll seriously consider it! Because this turned out rather cute...

- A Night To Remember -

Around them, girls were giggling and cheering, swamping the red-head with kisses and hugs, practically smothering the chosen so he couldn't get a single breath of air. And of course he was loving it, hearts shining in his eyes, as he lapped up the attention.

"He's such a pervert" Sheena whispered, still standing in the doorway at surprise, anger showing on her face that Zelos had the nerve to invite her to such an occasion, obviously for his own pleasure.

"Agreed. Let's leave before he realises we're here" Raine suggested.

"Affirmative" Presea nodded, and the three females turned and left. Colette blinked, looking at them.

"...Why are you leaving? Lloyd and Zelos and..." Colette started to speak, as Sheena turned around and grabbed her wrists.

"Come on, Colette. This isn't the place for _respectable_ girls" Sheena dragged her off.

Genis blinked, looking at his sister, then back at the room, then Presea, then back at the room, and then his gentlemanly instincts kicked in and he said a quick farewell to Lloyd before jogging to join the girls, Regal stepping in toe.

Essentially leaving Lloyd alone. Of course, he knew Genis was too young for such a thing (Why Zelos had dared to invite young Genis to such an event was far beyond Lloyd's capacity to understand), and Regal had his dignity about him and wouldn't stoop so low. And Lloyd himself was considering following them.

For that idea was his decency, the part of him that disliked Zelos' flirtatious attitude and disrespected his complete lack of respect for women. Of course, there was also Colette, and Raine, and Sheena – all three of the would be furious with him if he dared to go into Zelos' mansion and stay there for a while. Not to mention Genis would never let him hear the end of it.

But he had to see Zelos and tell him that they were declining his offer... or maybe they could find his butler instead, and then he could relay the message, and as little attention as possible would be drawn to him. Then maybe he could slip away without getting Zelos' attention...

"You guys go on ahead" Lloyd turned and called over to them. "I need to tell Zelos that he's an idiot for thinking to bring us out here..."

"You'd better not stick around long, Lloyd Irving!" Raine shouted over.

"Yeah. We don't need another complete pervert in this group" Sheena called to the brunette. "We'll be waiting back at the hotel"

Lloyd waved good-bye to them and stepped inside, to the lobby of Zelos' small mansion.

Practically every decent-looking girl in town was in there, and they were all head-over-heels in love with Zelos. There was practically a cat fight going on around him, as girls fought to be closed to him, but he apparently wasn't trying to stop it at all. Lloyd looked around frantically, edging along the side of the walls. If Zelos caught his eye, then Zelos would drag him right in and make a big scene of it, just like he always would...

"Hey, Lloyd! You're here!"

Zelos's voice made Lloyd freeze up. He nervously detached himself from the wall, as the girls spread out and gave the suave-looking Zelos a chance to grab Lloyd by the shoulders.

"Umm... Zelos, h-hi" Lloyd stuttered out, at a loss for words.

"Hey, everyone! This is my good bud Lloyd! Excellent fighter! What do you girls say?"

There were giggles.

"He's really cute, you know that?"

"Not as cute as the chosen"

"Oh, yeah, I know. But I still wanna kiss him."

"Yeah!"

Zelos was grinning, Lloyd was frowning, and the girls were converging.

Lloyd became lost in what seemed to be a blob of tangled limbs and felt about fifty different pairs of lips kiss him. At some point, he was knocked down, and the girls weren't letting up. Zelos was laughing and giggling, several girls around him gasping and giggling rambunctiously, and Lloyd shut his eyes.

"Having fun, Lloyd?" Zelos called over, his voice reaching Lloyd's ears over the crowd.

"Um... Not really" Lloyd tried to say, but the last two words were cut out by another girl kissing him. He shut his lips, refusing the girls from being able to French him, and forced himself to endure. Several of the girls had their hands running over his body, and he had to admit that there was a war going on in his head, between his hormones and his willpower.

Lloyd simply refused to stoop to Zelos' level. He knew that if he gave into such _whorish_ actions, that he'd be no better than Zelos.

How much time had passed? Lloyd found it fairly easy to distract himself by counting off the minutes, and he shut off his senses to outside sensation.

"...This one's no fun" a couple of the girls started to complain, and the moment Lloyd had a moment to spare in which nobody was paying attention to him, he bolted towards the door, only to find that it had been locked. He looked back at Zelos, seeing the man shirtless (that might not have been all he was lacking, but over the mess of bodies Lloyd couldn't tell), and the pink-haired bishonen was engaged in a deep liplock with one girl.

Idly, Lloyd wondered when the girls had locked the door, before he decided to perhaps attempt another route. He turned and climbed a flight of stairs, escaping to the upper floors, and finding himself in a bedroom.

Lloyd sighed, and flopped down on the bed, tired. Now he'd done it. He'd have to wait for Zelos to show, and then explain to him everything... especially that Lloyd wasn't interested in women. Or, at least, that Lloyd wasn't interesting in kissing every woman that put a hand on him or even allowed her eyes to flash over him for a moment. After all, if he wanted something from a woman, he wanted it to actually _mean_ something...

At one point, the butler stopped by, startled to see Lloyd alone in the room. Lloyd had asked him to fetch Zelos once the party had stopped downstairs, and the butler had replied with "Yes, sir bud" to Lloyd's irritation.

Time clicked by, and Lloyd's thoughts covered one thousand different matters about their journey. Indeed, by the time Zelos finally came upstairs, Lloyd was sleeping.

"...Hey, Lloyd. Wake up" Zelos grabbed Lloyd's shoulder and shook him awake, and Lloyd muttered some confused words as he came to.

"...Oh, hey, Zelos" Lloyd looked at him, sitting up on the bed. "Sorry about that, but you were taking so long..."

"Didn't like the female company?" Zelos' eyebrow rose. "Why'd you leave so soon? I _know_ you've got more stamina in you then that..."

Lloyd's face heated up. "Zelos, that's not... listen. I had come here to tell you that everyone was disgusted that you'd invite us all to something we'd obviously want no part of..."

"...Female company just not your thing?" Zelos asked, giving Lloyd a sideways look.

"Hey! I never said that!" Lloyd stuttered. "Zelos... I just don't see a point in sleeping with random girls."

"Ah ha! You're a virgin than!" Zelos grinned, and Lloyd flushed. "Funny, a handsome guy like you shouldn't be one by this point. You're not me, sure, but..."

"Stop it, Zelos" Lloyd growled, though he was startled at the fact that Zelos had openly called him 'handsome'.

"...What's wrong, Lloyd?"

"It's just that random female companionship has never exactly... _you know_..." Lloyd shifted a bit.

"Oh, stop being so immature about it, Lloyd. We're both guys here" Zelos grinned. "You don't get turned on by the thought of..."

"Zelos, stop it!"

"You didn't like it when the girls were all kissing you?"

"No! They're nobodies, they don't..."

Zelos grabbed Lloyd's shoulders, and there was a concerned look on his face. "Lloyd, I invited you guys over to try and have some fun. You could have left through the back door if you had really wanted to go."

Lloyd blinked. Of course, he knew about the back door, they had spent several nights at Zelos' personal manor. He had been stupid...

"So you didn't find that fun?" Zelos asked.

"No"

"...Well, I'm going to find something fun for you to do, because I owe that to you" Zelos winked, as he wrapped an arm around the back of Lloyd's neck, scooting in just a bit closer.

Lloyd blinked innocently. "...Zelos?"

"I'm not saying you have to like it, Lloyd, but..." Zelos scooted even closer, drawing in Lloyd's head as he kissed him on the lips.

Lloyd's eyes opened in shock, as he felt Zelos' hot lips press against his own, and what was even more shocking to him was that it actually felt better than when he was with all of those girls.

"...Zelos..." Lloyd breathed out, surprised, as the older man pulled away.

"...Well?" Zelos smirked, awaiting the reaction of the younger swordsman.

"That was... umm... that is to say... I mean... I..." Lloyd stuttered out, intelligently, trying to form words. He wanted a way to put it that would tell Zelos that he had succeeded – so that Zelos would let him go and leave – but not in such a manner that would make Zelos want to push the topic any further... or kiss him again...

"I loved it" Lloyd whispered softly, and then his insides froze at the response that he had given.

"...How sweet" Zelos flashed his evil, quirky, _sexy_ grin at Lloyd, and kissed Lloyd again.

Lloyd didn't want it to happen again, because he was afraid of how strongly his body was reacting to it. Without him even intending to this time, his mouth opened up, and Zelos' tongue made its way inside his mouth, mapping out Lloyd's mouth and gently duelling with Lloyd's tongue.

It only took a few moments before Lloyd gave in, his tongue fighting back against Zelos', and he let off a soft whimper of protest as the two had to break away for air.

Lloyd felt Zelos' other arm wrap around the back of his neck, and the redhead leaned in, his body hovering over Lloyd's, and suddenly the brunette put his hands on Zelos' chest and pushed him back.

"Huh?" Zelos blinked, surprised, as Lloyd stood up, shaking and blushing heavily.

"...Zelos, I... I can't..." Lloyd quickly ran for the door, swung it open, and ran out, leaving a very confused and surprised Zelos behind.

"He was blushing as he left..." Zelos laid back on the bed, sighing. "I hope that wasn't just his natural reaction, Lloyd doesn't blush much afterall... I do hope he still likes me, though... does he know I didn't lie about him being handsome?"

Zelos sighed, then rolled onto his side and fell asleep.

Outside, as Lloyd returned to the inn in the dead of night, the rest of the crew asleep (Though as Lloyd hopped into the bed he shared with Genis he swore the young boy was watching him), Lloyd was glad that he had managed to get away from Zelos. He didn't want... Zelos was just playing with him...

...Right?

A thought danced on Lloyd's mind: What if it was possible... that Zelos actually...

Lloyd shook his head. That couldn't be. It was impossible.

And yet, as he fell asleep, secretly he hoped that maybe, just possibly, that the minute chance was actually a reality - that Zelos _did_ like him.


	2. Second Thoughts

A/N: Okay, FINE! I give in! I'll continue it! Screams, faints, and then gets back up. Anyway, now that I've said all that, here's the deal. I've continued this, and what the hell drove me to do it is you guys! So consider yourself powerful! Anyway, there's also gonna be an add-on to the NC-17 version, if you have the link . (If you haven't got it because you're a new review and want to see it, leave your address in your review!)

Anyway, I couldn't help it! Just to add more plot and cuteness and thickening and stuff, I had to put in a one-sided Shonen Ai pairing here... . How long does it take you guys to figure it out?

--Chapter 2: Second Thoughts--

"Lloyd Irving, why did it take you so long to get back last night?" Sheena growled.

"Are you really that low, Lloyd?" Raine asked, shaking her head.

"...I'm disappointed..." Presea murmured.

"I thought better of you, Lloyd" Regal shook his head.

"Ehehehehe... well, you see, and then, umm... Zelos kinda didn't give me a chance to talk to him, so I had to wait around..."

"...Bet you liked it..." Genis muttered behind him, as he munched on their breakfast. "When you got back last night, you were blushing the whole time."

"...Umm..." Lloyd blinked. "Wait, you _were_ awake?"

"Yes" Genis growled, annoyed for a reason Lloyd couldn't place. "And here I was thinking you had decency and morals..."

"...I don't get it" Colette blinked. "Why is everyone being so mean to Lloyd?"

"..." Everyone just looked at her, blankly, and she returned the clueless, naïve stare.

"...Oh, never you mind" Raine sighed. "Lloyd, you should finish eating. We're going to go wait outside for Zelos to show up again."

"Oh, alright" Lloyd nodded, as everyone packed up and left, except Colette, who was apparently not as full as the others - then again, Lloyd knew from watching her that she ate so slowly that she always took much longer than everyone else.

"...Lloyd, why was everyone mad at you?" Colette asked, looking up at him.

Lloyd shrugged. "'Cause they think I stayed at Zelos' place for far too long last night."

"When he was partying last night? ...Oh, now I'm starting to get it" Colette was _finally_ clueing in. Lloyd sighed, rolling his eyes.

"But why was Genis so mad at you?" she finally spoke up again. "I can understand the girls, but Genis?"

Lloyd shrugged, as oblivious as the blonde. "I have no clue at all" he sighed. The two were silent for the rest of the time, as they finished their meal. They walked out beside each other, and apparently Raine and Sheena at least hadn't yet forgiven him, because they were both staring at him angrily. Presea, at least, seemed to have let him off the hook for the moment, her gaze elsewhere, looking around town, studying the people who walked by.

"...Zelos should be by sometime soon" Raine said pointedly, looking around. "...Unless he completely overdid himself last night... Gods, if he did, I'm gonna drag him out of that bed and..."

"I'll go" Lloyd volunteered. "I need to speak to him anyway" he told them, though he didn't give any more details then that. After all, he wasn't sure just how the others would feel about him possibly having an affection for Tethe'Alla's Chosen.

As he walked away, the others looked at each other.

"...Should one of us go too? Just to make sure he doesn't do anything?" Sheena suggested, giving Lloyd a harsh look over her shoulder.

"I think he has learned his lesson, but still..." Presea sighed.

"I'll go" Genis put his hands on his hips, and without even waiting a fraction of a second for any reply from the others, he stalked off to go follow Lloyd.

Lloyd swung open the doors of the mansion, looking around. There was no sign of Sebastian, no hint that anyone had even been there last night... Of course, he personally had been a part of the varied happenings in the main lobby only a few hours ago...

"No. Bad memories" Lloyd shook his head, looking around. "Zelos! Zelos? You in here?" he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out. "Sebastian?"

Almost immediately, the tall, stiff-backed butler came over to answer Lloyd's call. "Yes, sir bud?"

"Two things. First, my name is not 'Bud', it's Lloyd. And second, is Zelos still here?"

"That he is, sir bud, I believe he is just waking up" Sebastian pointed upstairs. "You can go up to meet him, if you should want."

Lloyd's face twitched, but he annoyed the butler's slip and turned towards the stairs, stomping up them, heading straight towards Zelos' room. He swung the door open and stepped inside.

"Hey, Zelos, it's time to wake up!" Lloyd shouted gleefully, and then he blinked when he didn't hear even the slightest sound in response. He finally took the time to look around, and found that the room was completely empty.

"...Huh? Zelos?" Lloyd blinked. He had expected Zelos to be, lazy as usual, still asleep in his bed or something. Instead, Zelos was nowhere to be found.

Lloyd took a couple steps into the room, looking past the door's edge and looking for Zelos. The Chosen was nowhere to be seen.

"...Zelos?" Lloyd blinked, sighed, and turned.

At that exact moment, Zelos, who was soaking wet and dressed only in a towel, jumped onto Lloyd from behind the opened door and tackled him to the bed.

"Hey, hunny" Zelos grinned. "I knew you'd be back."

Lloyd tried to stammer out something, but he was much too surprised, and found himself being kissed pretty quickly by Zelos.

"Z-Z-Z-Z-Zelos!!" Lloyd stuttered, lost in the moment, as the two broke away.

"Come to apologise for running out on me last night?" Zelos asked, tilting his head just a bit, and Lloyd blinked. He felt just a bit of water dripping off of Zelos' body - he must have just got out of the bath - and of course his wet hair was plastered to his shoulders, back, and decently-muscled chest, making him all the more attractive. Lloyd bit his lower lip to keep from blushing, but it didn't work.

"...Zelos... Why did you do that?" Lloyd asked dimly.

"Because, _darling_, I love you" Zelos grinned, in such a manner that Lloyd felt quite helpless, though it also made him wonder about the sincerity of Zelos' words. "I figured that would be a good way to get you to have some fun, after you didn't have any at the party last night..."

Lloyd fought with his own feelings. He was tempted to just reach up and kiss Zelos (he was that damn sexy when he was soaking wet), but he knew that would only lead to more dangerous things, if he did. After all, Zelos was already naked except for a towel.

With the resolution that he needed to control himself and get a straight answer (about non-straight matters) out of Zelos, Lloyd put his hands on Zelos' chest to try and push him off, but of course that wasn't the sign Zelos got. The chosen flashed that sexy grin of his, and Lloyd's hands began to lazily run over Zelos' chest, instead of trying to push him off.

"...Besides, you like me too, don't you? You probably have all this time, haven't you?" Zelos leaned down towards Lloyd and whispered those words in Lloyd's ear, his breath making Lloyd hot under the collar.

"LLOYD!"

Lloyd's head snapped to the side, to look towards the door, and ended up bashing into Zelos' in the process. With that snap back to reality, Lloyd pushed Zelos off of him and rubbed his nose, before looking towards the owner of the voice.

Genis was standing there, right hand on his hip, left hand clenched at his side angrily, fire dancing in his eyes.

"...G-Genis, did you follow me?" Lloyd stuttered, trying to act innocent.

"I can't believe you... Either of you... you... I..." Genis growled, apparently trying to say something, but the first thing that came to mind probably wasn't what Genis meant to do. He grabbed the Kendama from his belt, swung it up into the air, caught the orb, and then with a shout of "Wind Blade!" fired off a spell towards the two.

Zelos eeped, grabbed onto Lloyd's shoulders, and hid behind the brunette, as the three blades smacked into Lloyd, knocking the wind out of him. Lloyd crunched up painfully, gasping to catch his breath, feeling a bit of blood coming from the front of his chest where one of the blades had hit. By the time he opened his eyes again and looked up, Genis was gone.

"...What was... that about...?" Lloyd blinked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Zelos said, as if Lloyd was a complete idiot. Of course, Zelos thought he was, but that isn't a point in question here. "The little kid's jealous of me, Lloyd."

There was such a joking tone in Zelos' voice that Lloyd didn't believe him for the second - even though unknowingly Zelos had spoken the truth.

"Oh, stop it, Zelos" Lloyd stood up, adjusting his clothes. "Get your stuff together and head towards the Coliseum. We'll all be waiting for you out there" and with that announcement, he stomped off, leaving the soaked Zelos, somewhat stunned, on his bed.

Zelos growled to himself, as he shut the door, then proceeded to change into his proper travelling gear. Finally, he reopened the door, grabbed his sword and attached it to his belt, and then headed off to join the others.

Genis was the first back, and by the time he had returned, there were tears at the edge of his eyes.

"...How are Lloyd and Zelos?" Colette asked, cluelessly, and Genis rounded on her and bared his teeth dangerously.

"Don't. You. Mention. Them. To. Me." Genis spoke slowly and low, between deep breaths, and even Raine and Regal were thoroughly stumped.

"...Genis? What's wrong?" Raine asked, kneeling down beside her little brother, and wrapping an arm around him.

Genis sighed, his anger and hatred quickly flowing away, and he collapsed into his sister's arms, sobbing lightly.

"Perhaps it is best if we do not ask" Regal spoke calmly. "Obviously Genis just went through something troubling involving..." he didn't finish, he didn't want to speak their names and upset Genis more. "I will go intercept them..."

"...Alright" Raine nodded. "There's something going on here..."

Lloyd had his head down, grumbling something awful, as he stepped lazily through the dirty streets of Meltokio. His feet scraped across the pavement as he walked, but he didn't care. His mind was too caught up in Zelos again.

Zelos, Zelos, Zelos. Suddenly all of his thoughts and conversations ended up with Zelos as the root of them. Was it just coincidence? No, it wasn't. At least, Lloyd hoped it wasn't. That would mean that his world now revolved around Zelos Wilder, the idiot Chosen of Tethe'Alla, who certainly didn't need another big ego boost.

Lloyd let out a sigh, shutting his eyes, not paying attention to where he was going, just following his general sense of direction towards the coliseum - a place where he and Zelos had fought together a couple times...

_"Hey, Lloyd, behind you" Genis shouted._

_Lloyd spun, seeing a large axe warrior behind him, his axe already falling towards him. His senses froze, seeing the immense blade coming down towards him..._

_And then something tackled him from the side, and two bodies rolled and came to a grinding halt, and when Lloyd finally realised he had his eyes closed and took a moment to reopen them, he was surprised to find out it was Zelos who he had his legs mixed up with, that it was Zelos' muscular arms wrapped around him._

_"...You alright?" Zelos asked, looking down at Lloyd._

_"...Yeah" Lloyd nodded, honestly surprised that Zelos had saved him from almost-certain death._

_"Well, good. Don't want you dying on me" Zelos grinned, and the leaning his head closer to Lloyd, he did something that surprised the younger man._

_He gently nuzzled his face against Lloyd's. "Keep yourself safe, handsome" Zelos whispered in Lloyd's ear, before standing up again and running off to go save Sheena this time._

_Lloyd blinked, blushing, and then finally reality returned to him and he snapped to his feet, to return to the fight._

Lloyd was so caught up the memory that he barely noticed that he had run into Regal until he bumped into the bigger man, being thrown off his guard and landing promptly on his ass.

"...Oh, sorry" Lloyd blinked, noticing Regal. "...What's up, Regal?"

"What exactly did you and Zelos do to Genis?" Regal asked.

"...What do you mean, what did we do to Genis?" Lloyd asked him right back, confused, as he stood up.

"The poor kid's crying back there, and it must have had something to do with you two, because he got mad when we mentioned your names. What happened?" Regal asked.

Lloyd flushed several colours.

"...Umm, Regal..." Lloyd shook his head. "I don't wanna have to talk about it..."

"There you are, hunny!"

Lloyd's heart froze as Zelos jumped on him from behind, wrapping his arms around Lloyd's shoulders, startling both other men. Zelos nuzzled the side of Lloyd's head with his own, smiling happily. "Sorry that took so long. Oh, hey, Regal."

Regal just stared and blinked, halfway amazed. "...Is this... that still does not explain why Genis is so heartbroken..." Regal blinked.

"I told you. Genis is jealous of me!" Zelos said, sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood as he caught on quickly to what Regal was talking about.

"Zelos, be serious!" Lloyd kicked backwards, knocking the heel of his shoe against Zelos' calf, and making the redhead jump backwards a bit in surprise.

"Hey, Lloyd, be nice! I am being serious" Zelos said, though Lloyd was still finding his voice oddly false. "Trust me. I'm used to people getting used to me. I steal girlfriends from people all the time. I've stolen a couple boyfriends too. And then I see the person they used to be with and they act just like that."

"...You mean, this isn't the first time that you and a guy...?"

"There's a _lot_ you don't know about me, Lloyd" Zelos grinned, wrapping his arms around Lloyd's shoulders again, from behind, and Lloyd sighed and relaxed into it, even though he knew he shouldn't.

Lloyd and Regal both glanced around, because after all the three of them were now in the open and there were people walking by. However, nobody seemed to pay any special heed.

"...Everybody in this town is acting..."

"Oh, it's nothing unusual. They know I like any good handsome company" Zelos giggled, as Lloyd rounded on him, annoyed.

"Oh, so am I just 'company'?"

"Of course not, Lloydie" Zelos smiled, and Lloyd's cheeks rouged even deeper. If it kept like this, people would think he had got a sunburn on his cheeks.

"L-L-Lloydie!?" Lloyd stuttered, amazed.

"Yes. You're now _my_ Lloydie" Zelos smiled, and Lloyd swore there was an emphasis put on the word 'my'. Maybe it was just his imagination. Lloyd _hoped_ it was just his imagination.

"...Well, I've seen enough" Regal sighed. "But you two are gonna have to tell the girls..."

"Hey, now why us?" Zelos asked, blinking cutely.

"Because there's no way in hell I'm going to be the bearer of bad news on _this_ matter" Regal stated bluntly, surprising Lloyd and Zelos with how... sarcastic he seemed - and that must have been a first. And then before he heard any protests, he walked back in the direction of the coliseum.

Lloyd looked up at Zelos, slightly worried. "...The girls are gonna kill us..."

"Well, what makes you say that?" Zelos asked, smiling as if he thought nothing was wrong.

"Colette... Me and her were kind of almost somewhat in love! And Sheena... I think that she liked me too!"

"Oh?" Zelos blinked, shrugging, and then a very broad grin came to his lips as he spoke. "You don't think the girls could share you with me?"

Lloyd was so embarrassed at the answer that he smacked Zelos over the head.


	3. Breaking News

A/N: Here, more! You guys happy now? There's an update to the uncensored version too, so yeah . More happy Lloyd/Zelos stuff . And just because you guys liked Jealous Genis, he stays . He's so cute when he's angry! . So, yeah, anyway, on with the next chapter...  
_(PS: I'm currently holding a random Shonen-Ai based contest-type thing while looking for new pairings... - go check out my Author Profile for details! Genis Irving)_

--3: Breaking News--

Regal was the first to return to the group, and when he showed up, he asked Raine to take Genis away. Genis was still sobbing, and Raine nodded, leaving with her little brother, and Regal went with her, telling the others that Lloyd and Zelos would be along to explain everything.

Of course, during that pause, the group was speculating what had happened.

"I bet you Zelos was getting Lloyd to go with some of the girls that had stayed behind" Sheena muttered. "Genis is probably just upset because he always looked up to Lloyd, but now that he's stooped so low..."

"Genis is probably just mad that Lloyd took so long" Colette smiled, dimly. "He'll get over it, there's nothing wrong."

Presea shook her head. "I do not think Genis would react so strongly to such a simple answer. The response may come as a shock to you two."

"Oh? What do you think, Presea?" Colette asked.

"I will not speak, they do not deserve excess suspicion upon them" Presea said. "They are still my friends regardless."

"Yeah. It won't be that bad" Colette agreed.

And then the girl-talk was interrupted by the approach of the two males in question. Lloyd was walking in front, Zelos walking just a bit behind him, and Lloyd almost slowed down when he spotted girls.

Yet a playful slap from behind got Lloyd to keep moving.

"Zelos..." Lloyd whined. "I don't wanna do this!"

"Lloyd, you should tell them" Zelos smiled. "Besides, you're the one who keeps getting all the girls attracted to you..."

"Me? You are, you..." Lloyd growled, turning around to face the other male.

"Oh, come on and lets get this over with" Zelos placed a finger against Lloyd's lips, and Lloyd was glad his back was turned so the girls couldn't see it. A moment later, Zelos' hands were on his chest, and Lloyd flushed a bit before he realised that Zelos was only turning him around, then those strong hands were on his back and pushing him forward.

"Ehehe... Hi" Lloyd smiled, trying to act totally casual.

"Hi, Lloyd" Colette smiled.

"Okay, Lloyd, Zelos, what's going on?" Sheena muttered, with a specifically harsh glare towards Zelos, over Lloyd's shoulder.

Zelos put on his sad face. "Why do you think something's going on? Are we that untrustworthy?"

"After a night in which Lloyd returns from one of your night parties way too late and blushing, and then when he goes to fetch you Genis comes back angry and crying... What's going on?" Sheena pressed.

"Nothing" Lloyd said quickly, putting his hands up defensively. "I don't know what you guys are talking about..."

"Lloyd, you should not keep secrets to your friends" Presea spoke calmly, looking at the two. "Zelos, since Lloyd's not telling us, would you care too?"

Lloyd's throat caught. Oh, she had just tempted cruel fate... or at least tempted Zelos. Not that they couldn't be the same incarnation sharing a body, Lloyd had begun to think. Zelos, of course, worked at the most inopportune moments to...

"Okay, fine. But I can't promise you girls are gonna like it" Zelos grinned.

"Why's that? You haven't done anything perverted, have you?" Sheena growled.

"No, I assure you" Zelos smiled, wrapping an arm around Lloyd from behind, around the younger male's waist.

Lloyd flushed up a bit, blocking off the instinct that told him to lean back into Zelos' embrace. Maybe he could find a way out of this...

Nope, too late. Presea and Sheena were staring intently at them, confusion over their faces at Zelos' actions, and Colette was pleasantly unaware of what Zelos was about to do.

"Zelos? Why do you have your arm around Lloyd's waist?" Colette asked, confused..

"Oh? Well, I suppose I'd better make it obvious" Zelos grinned, as his other hand slid up towards Lloyd's chin, cupping it and lifting it up, and despite the fact that Lloyd really didn't want to show it, he gave in instantly when he felt Zelos' lips upon his. The kiss was only for a moment, but it was still quite blissful.

Presea stood there, blinking, as if she was totally unaffected or had expected it - a possibility that almost made Lloyd feel... insulted. Sheena's eyebrows were raised with surprise and curiosity, because she had known that Tethe'Alla's chosen was known for stealing _anyone_ who was remotely handsome. But Lloyd...? It stung somewhere deep inside of her, but for the moment she was too stunned to care. Colette was blinking, trying to understand what just happened.

Lloyd looked towards the group, blushing, as Zelos still held him around the waist. He tried to lean back deliberately into Zelos' embrace, but he couldn't. He was too tense.

"...Well, I hope that explains it" Lloyd said.

"Lloyd Irving...!!" Sheena's voice rose at the end, rough with annoyance and anger, and Zelos moved himself fully behind Lloyd for protection. Then her gaze shifted over Lloyd's shoulder to his love. "Zelos Wilder!! What the hell have you done to poor innocent Lloyd?"

"I haven't done anything!" Zelos stated quickly.

"You've corrupted poor innocent Lloyd and made him just another one of your floozies!" Sheena started, but Lloyd cut her off.

"No, Sheena. Don't get the wrong idea... I... I..." Lloyd tried to visibly relax, falling into Zelos' arms, as the older bishonen kissed the younger once more.

"...L-Lloyd... Argh!" Sheena threw her hands up in the air in frustration, and annoyance. Of course _Zelos_ would steal from her the one person she was falling in love with. "Zelos, do you always have to ruin my damn life!"

And with that, she stomped off roughly towards the coliseum, intending on letting off some massive, massive frustration.

(Later that day, she would be crowned champion of the Advanced Class of the Coliseum)

Colette blinked, finally beginning to understand.

"...Lloyd, do you love Zelos more than me?"

Lloyd choked on words. He had _thought_ he had loved Colette. But he had thought the same about Sheena... but Zelos was on a whole different level then the two of them. He couldn't look Colette in the eye as he nodded.

"...Well, that's okay" Colette smiled.

Lloyd was startled. "It is?"

"Yes. We're still good friends, aren't we?" Colette asked. "...I mean, I really like you, but if you would rather be with Zelos, then... I won't stop you."

"...Thanks, Colette" Lloyd smiled, but despite her cheery attitude, Colette retreated towards the local inn. Now that reality was setting in on her, she needed some time to think.

"And you, little Presea?" Zelos asked.

"It is nothing I need to concern myself with" Presea smiled slightly. "Though I do feel the pain of the others... I understand your position and I had supposed it when I saw Genis come back crying. He had often said that he loved you, Lloyd, did you know that?"

Lloyd gulped. "No... No, I didn't."

"Well, he does" Presea said. "And I don't like the fact that you broke his heart, because he is an innocent child, but... I accept things as they are. I'm going to go see Genis."

With that, Presea left, turning towards the inn, like most of the rest had done.

"...Well, that went well" Zelos shrugged.

"What do you mean, _that went well_?" Lloyd growled at him, turning around sharply. "You... we just both really hurt Sheena and Genis, and we both probably ended up hurting Colette too, even if she doesn't show it!"

Zelos sighed. "I know, Lloyd. I know" Lloyd was startled by how serious Zelos was when he spoke now. "I know that it's painful for us to have to hurt our friends... but wouldn't you admit one thing? That you'd never go back on this decision?"

"What?" Lloyd blinked. "What decision?"

"To love me?" Zelos offered, his sarcastic, joking voice finally starting to return.

"...Yes I would, how can you..." Lloyd started, but then trailed off.

He had hurt his friends, and that was a major low... but now he had been with Zelos and even just their kisses had made him happier than he thought possible.

"...Yes... you're right... I don't think I would" Lloyd finally gave in, and Zelos wrapped his arms around the younger boy, as he cuddled up to the older's chest.

"...So, it's true then" Raine muttered, startling both, as she approached from a side street.

"H-Hey, professor... where have you been?" Lloyd asked.

"Regal told me everything" Raine sighed. "And just now Colette comes back looking like she's ready to cry..."

"But what about you?" Lloyd asked another question. "We've already figured out how every one else is about this, but how are you feeling?"

"I'm mad that you guys hurt my brother a lot, but..." Raine sighed. "Truth be told, I'm very curious."

"...Curious? About what, professor?" Lloyd asked, continuing his string of queries.

"About how another man could possibly feel love for another man, when nature dictates that love is supposed to be between a man and a woman" Raine answered, but she wasn't done. She stood up rather proudly. "Though it's not a good thing for my brother, I was surprised to learn he fell into this particular category as well. It is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the human mind. And aside from that, I'm curious about you, Lloyd Irving."

"Why?" another question from Lloyd.

"I'm curious about what you could ever see in a philandering dirt bag like Zelos."

"That hurt, Raine" Zelos whined. "That really, really hurts"

Some hours later, the group had finally rejoined each other at the inn. Genis was trying hard not to break down crying, Sheena was glaring almost literal daggers at Zelos, Colette was putting on a happy face despite her feelings, Raine was watching them intently, and Regal and Presea were acting as if nothing had changed.

Lloyd and Zelos were trying to act totally normal, as they sat in various places in one of the three rooms that Sheena rented from the inn, eating a meal that Regal had cooked up - he was the only good chef in the group who wasn't busy experiencing an emotional breakdown.

Raine had suggested that the group remain in Meltokio for a couple days. Everyone had things to figure out, and it would be much harder to do if they were out travelling and adventuring. Time-wise things were limited, but if they didn't take the chance to resolve their emotional conflicts now, it could be dangerous to their health later. From the way things looked, it seemed as though the group was going to follow Raine's advice.

Nobody spoke the entire time. Everyone ate in silence, trying to avoid looking at each other. There was a lot of conflict to work out.

Then, finally, Zelos was finished first. He stretched. "Well, I'm off to my room, since it's getting late..."

"There's no room for you" Sheena muttered.

"What?" Zelos blinked.

"I only got three rooms, idiot" Sheena growled. "If you want to sleep, you can go walk back to your mansion..."

"Well, then, if you're gonna be that way, I will!" Zelos announced sharply, standing up and leaving.

A moment later, Lloyd stood up. He wanted to follow Zelos, but speaking of that in front of others who weren't so happy with the idea...

"Go ahead" Raine said, sensing what Lloyd wanted.

Lloyd blinked, then thanked Raine, but as he did he couldn't help but see the hurt looks from Genis. They made him feel very guilty inside, but hopefully they would get over it soon enough...

Lloyd left with all due haste. He didn't want to seem too hasty to go join Zelos, to spend the night in his arms, but he also wanted to be free of the guilt. He knew it wouldn't go away until he was back with Zelos, peacefully asleep.

The moment Lloyd knocked on the door of Zelos' mansion, Sebastian was there to greet him. "Hello, sir bud. Zelos has told me everything. He awaits you in his room."

"Thank you, and..." Lloyd turned to Sebastian. "If it's not too much to ask, could you please stop calling me 'sir bud'? My name is Lloyd" he tried to explain. Unfortunately, the butler was already walking off to take care of other business elsewhere in the manor.

Sighing, Lloyd walked upstairs, then found his way into Zelos' room. He knocked on the door, and heard Zelos' voice inviting him in.

Timidly, he opened the door, to find Zelos, lazing about on his bed, his head tilted sideways to look at Lloyd as the boy entered and shut the door behind him.

"What took you so long?" Zelos asked.

"...Do you know how guilty all of this makes me feel?" Lloyd asked sharply. "Do you have any clue how bad I feel when I see that Genis, my best and oldest friend, and Sheena, one of my most trusted companions, hating me? I..."

Zelos stood up and walked over to Lloyd, drawing him down onto the bed and onto Zelos' lap, as the older male wrapped his arms around Lloyd.

Zelos smiled, looking at Lloyd. "I know. I... can imagine. I suppose I'm Genis' friend... and Sheena... well, she's always hated me, but she was half-joking most of the time. She doesn't hate you, she hates me a lot more 'cause she thinks I seduced you into this or something," Lloyd held back a snort, before Zelos continued, "and that's not fun watching them hate me even worse. But... hey, I love you, and as long as you love me back it's all worth it. They probably won't like it for a while, but eventually they'll forgive you."

"...You sure?"

"Well, yeah. They are your friends, aren't they?" Zelos' sarcasm seemed to be one of the wisest things that Lloyd had heard in a long time.

Lloyd smiled, cuddling up against Zelos, as a hand rubbed along his back in comfort, and they shared kisses.

When exactly they ended up lying down, or under the covers, or when exactly it was that Lloyd fell asleep with Zelos' arms around him from behind Lloyd didn't know. But he found it impossible to be depressed.

After all, Zelos was a bit of a pest, but he was still very soft and kind to Lloyd. And while in Zelos' arms, Lloyd felt very, very safe.


	4. Hatred and Heart

A/N: Like, hey again! Yeah, there going to be another update to the uncensored version, though not right away. They're about to stop being the same story – a lot is going to change between the two versions, I think they may even end differently, so yeah. And... I guess that's all I have to say, so yeah!  
Zelos: Then get on with it!  
Me: Okay! Okay!

--4: Hatred and Heart--

"Sis, why did you let them go?" Genis asked, shifting uneasily, looking up at Raine with a hurt look, as he confronted her. The two were the only who had woken up so far at the inn, and they were talking around the table within their shared room.

"I'm sorry, Genis, I am... but..." Raine sighed. "Do you know how guilty you must be making him feel? He's being hurt a lot by the fact that you're mad at him."

"I'm not mad at Lloyd!" Genis pouted sharply at Raine. "I'm mad at Zelos for taking Lloyd away from me!"

"That's not the impression Lloyd's getting" Raine looked to him. "Genis, I know you love him... but he thinks that you hate him now."

"I could never hate Lloyd!" Genis answered, sighing, and sighing as he sat down beside Raine, before falling over and resting his head on Raine's shoulder. "I just... I dunno... I just wish I had another chance... that I could turn back time and tell Lloyd how I felt, before this all happened!"

"Well..." Raine sighed. "There's no way to do that, unfortunately, Genis."

"I know, Raine... what am I going to do?"

"You should go talk to Lloyd" Raine offered. "Do it now. Otherwise it's going to eat you up inside..."

"Raine, it's not that easy! I can't just go talk to him! He... He's with Zelos, he'll just push me away!" Genis protested, trying to find an excuse. Just the thought of confronting Lloyd about his affections made Genis' legs shake, and he gulped nervously.

"Genis... just do it" Raine told him, sighing, issuing a command.

"But, Raine..."

Raine sighed, putting her hand on her forehead. Only one way to do this.

"Student Genis, answer me. According to traditional texts upon the subject of romance, what should a person do when he or she loses the chance to be with the person he/she loves?"

Genis' instincts snapped in and he stood up. "Professor, the only correct answer, should the hurt female or male in question wish to have a relationship with that person, is to go and confront the one that he/she loves."

"Then what are you waiting for, Genis?" Raine asked him.

"Right" Genis nodded, and before he realised what he was doing he had shut the door behind him.

He sighed, slapping himself. "Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!! Raine won't let me back in after that! She'll make me go do it if she has to drag me there... so... I guess... I should..."

"Sheena..." Colette stood behind her roommate. "Sheena, don't tell me that you're thinking of hurting Zelos."

"Oh? Why shouldn't I?" Sheena cursed, grumbling up a storm as she sat cross-legged, fuming, chin in the palms of her hands. "Tell me why I shouldn't hurt him, Colette. Why I should even think of sparing that rude little man-stealing a..." she started, but kept herself from swearing.

"It's okay, you can swear if you need to. You need to let out your anger..." Colette sighed. "I know you're jealous of Zelos, but... please, don't take it out on him physically. Or Lloyd, either."

Sheena let out a despairing sigh. , you're right. I... I dunno. It's just so hard to believe that I lost Lloyd to such an idiot... I'm probably a bigger idiot than Zelos for letting it happen to me!"

"You... should speak to those two" Colette said calmly. "I know it won't be easy for you, but..."

"Hey, Colette?" Sheena asked, cutting Colette off in mid-sentence, as Sheena stood up and walked towards the door of the room.

"Yeah, Sheena?" Colette asked.

"Please don't take any offence, but... you're not always as ditzy as you seem."

Colette blinked, pondering this over and trying to decide how to take it for a moment, before she smiled. "Thanks"

Sheena laughed lightly to herself, before stepping out of the room.

Despite what Colette just said, and despite the fact that she knew it would hurt Lloyd... She had to deal with Zelos. Personally.

As Lloyd awoke, he shuffled gently, cuddling up against Zelos' body for a moment before slipping away, standing up. He stretched and let a loud yawn escape his mouth, as he looked back at Zelos, who was slowly awakening.

"Huh?" Zelos blinked, slowly sitting up as he realised that there was no longer a warm body in his arms. "...Lloydie, when did you get up?"

Lloyd was half-sitting on a desk, holding onto it with his hands, his feet dangling over the edge.

"Just now" Lloyd smiled. "How are you, hunny?"

"Hunny, now, is it?" Zelos laughed, standing up as he walked over to Lloyd, wrapping his arms around the younger male, and the two shared a passionate kiss, a smile across both their faces as they parted. "Treating me like the woman? Look at you!"

"Hey, that's not fair" Lloyd faked pouting angrily, gently bopping Zelos over the head. "Don't you call me a woman"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Lloydie" Zelos grinned, leaning in to kiss the other man again, before pulling away, and then changing the subject quite suddenly as a grumble made itself known from Lloyd's stomach. "Well... shall we go and get some breakfast?"

"Yeah, I suppose" Lloyd smiled, hopping down off of his perch, walking beside Zelos as the two headed downstairs, spotting Sebastian almost immediately.

"Ah, Zelos, sir bud, you have both awakened" he smiled, and Lloyd was tempted to correct him again, but another growl from his stomach shut him up. "Breakfast is served in the kitchen," Sebastian smiled, bowing low, sweeping his hands towards one of the doors.

"Good" Zelos smiled.

"Shall I be going to clean your room now, sir?" Sebastian asked, quizzically, and Lloyd turned a furious red.

"No need, we didn't do anything" Zelos smiled, as Lloyd tried to stutter out a response of his own. "Continue as usual, thank you, Sebastian"

"Very well. Good day to you, Zelos, and you, sir bud."

Sebastian smiled, turning and walking away into another area of the manse, as Lloyd turned towards Zelos, red in the face.

"Ehehe... Zelos, did he mean..."

Zelos laughed aloud, at Lloyd's semi-innocent stuttering. "Don't worry about it, Lloyd. Come on. Let's get some breakfast and get out of here, eh?"

Lloyd nodded, encouraged by the thought of food, as Zelos grabbed his wrist and dragged him along.

Some time later, as they finished their meal, Sebastian interrupted them.

"Umm... sir bud?" Sebastian poked his head around the corner.

"Yeah?" Lloyd asked.

"There's somebody who wishes to speak to you..."

"Okay" Lloyd stood up, looking at the butler. "Thanks... and my name is Lloyd, not sir bud."

"Very well, sir b..."

"Oh, forget it!" Lloyd growled, as he rose to walk off. Zelos stood up as well, going to follow the other.

"Sorry, master Zelos, but..." Sebastian sighed. "The visitor wished to speak to Lloyd personally."

"And who is it?" Zelos asked, annoyed.

"The visitor asked me not to tell you."

"Bet you it's Sheena..." Zelos growled.

"No it's not" Sheena's voice startled both Zelos and the butler, as she hoped in through the window.

"Ehehehe... Sheena... How nice to... see you!" Zelos stuttered out, surprised. The butler quickly ran away, almost scared.

Sheena looked heavily annoyed. "Stop it with the pleasantries, Zelos."

"Pleasantries? But my darling Sheena..." Zelos began, and Sheena cut him off, angrily, holding up a card threateningly towards him.

"How can you flirt with somebody else when you already have someone, Zelos? That's something only the lowest of the low do! What makes you think you're deserving of Lloyd?" Sheena shouted at him.

"Ehehe..."

"I bet anything you seduced him and the only reason he's staying with you is 'cause you're just having fun with him. But in the end you're only going to be a complete pervert and end up breaking the guy's heart when you go after your next big catch!" Sheena snapped at Zelos, stalking over to him and waving her cards threateningly in front of his face.

"Sheena, please, calm down, hunny..." Zelos started, and he bit his tongue. _Damn the way I have to flirt with everyone_, he thought. Sheena growled, puffing up.

"In fact," Sheena growled, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't break you now before you get the chance to break Lloyd?"

"Umm... because... that'd break Lloyd's heart and you don't want that to happen?" Zelos blinked, offering innocently, shaking slightly. As they said, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Sheena muttered a curse under her breath. "Hmm... damn, I hate it when you're right..." she let out an annoyed sigh, dropping her arms to her side.

"Of course I'm right!" Zelos smiled, laughing nervously, and he froze as Sheena's arms rose again, and she pulled into a fighting position. "Now, wait, Sheena... Let's be rational about this..."

"Demon Seal!"

Lloyd entered the main lobby, looking towards the door. He knew who was standing there.

"...Genis..." he sighed to himself. He knew he'd have to encounter Genis head-on eventually, but... now of all times? He wasn't ready at all... And from the way little Genis was shaking slightly and unable to look Lloyd in the eyes, Genis was apparently not totally ready himself.

"Lloyd... umm..." Genis shifted, looking off to the side, unable to look directly at Lloyd. A small blush was hinted at on his cheeks. "Can I... umm... talk to you?"

"Ah, sure" Lloyd smiled softly, walking over to the little kid, and kneeling down. "What's up?" he tried to act casual, as if he didn't know... He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was Zelos' influence on him.

"Lloyd Irving, you...!" Genis didn't quite finish as he jumped to wrap his arms around the older boy, starting to sob onto his shoulder almost instantly.

Lloyd was surprised by the reaction, and was knocked backwards, Genis now pretty much sitting in his lap as he cried.

"Genis..." Lloyd whispered.

"It's not fair, Lloyd, it's not fair! Why him? Why him..." Genis sobbed out, his right hand coming loose from around Lloyd's back and beginning to weakly pound the other boy on the chest. It wasn't doing any damage though, and quickly Genis' hand seemed to weak to keep doing it, as it feel to his side.

"Genis... I..."

"Is there something wrong with me? Is it because I'm so young... please, Lloyd, tell me... Why?" Genis whimpered.

"I don't know" Lloyd responded, shaking his head. "I don't know why I'm with him. But..."

"...Lloyd..." Genis whimpered. "Are you happy?"

"Huh?" Lloyd blinked, looking at his best friend.

"Are you happy... being with him?" Genis asked.

Lloyd sighed. No use lying to the kid. What good could come out of it, anyway? "Yeah... Yeah, I'm happy, Genis... It just... feels right, being with him, I guess."

Genis didn't have anything more to say. He just kept whimpering on Lloyd's shoulder, and the older boy wrapped his arms around the younger, trying to comfort him.

"... Lloyd..." Genis muttered, as he sobbed.

"Yeah?"

"... You know Zelos... he'll just break your heart..." Genis responded. "Please... I know you like it now, but think about that..."

"Genis..." Lloyd sighed. He wanted to tell Genis that Zelos had changed, or at least that Zelos wasn't really the man they thought he was. Zelos did have a heart, he could be with one person, Zelos did _love_ him...

...Didn't he?

How many people, exactly, had Zelos tricked into thinking he had loved just to bed them? Then shoot them down the moment the next cute girl caught his eye?

An odd thought hit the back of Lloyd's head. Sure, Zelos hadn't done anything with him... was this some kind of game for Zelos? It was totally unlike Zelos... The older man hadn't even tried to do anything too perverted to him... almost as if he wasn't putting his heart into it, like he would with all those girls.

Did Zelos not really care about Lloyd?

As Lloyd mulled over this, Genis slowly pushed himself off of Lloyd and out of the older boy's grip. "... Lloyd, I... umm... I really, really love you..."

"...I know, Genis"

"Lloyd, I've loved you so long... and... I don't know. Please, I don't want to see you get hurt because of Zelos, okay? Please..."

"...Okay" Lloyd nodded, and before he could say anything else Genis turned and left slowly. He pondered over the innocent boy's words. For a moment the thought flashed in his head that Genis could merely be trying to convince him against Zelos, but everything that Genis was saying was true and from his heart, and that was what mattered to Lloyd.

"Demon Seal!"

Lloyd was startled out of his momentary thoughts by a shout of Sheena's, coming from the direction of the dining room. Then the sounds of Zelos shouting, the sounds of dishes breaking, and then a thud against the wall.

"What the hell!?" Lloyd muttered, as he ran towards the dining room, turning in towards it quickly, to find Zelos knocked out against the wall, a bit of blood running through his hair and over his face. All the dishes had been knocked off, and Zelos had been apparently knocked across the table and right into the back wall. Sheena was nowhere to be seen. "Zelos! Zelos!"


	5. Lloyd's Decision

A/N: Really wish to apologise! It's been so long since I updated it's ridiculous, and I feel like a scumbag! I promise to get around to finishing this fic shortly!  
Anyway, this version is going to be completed before I start working on completing the uncensored version - which will, by the way, have a different ending entirely from the one here. As for my other ToS fics... Silent Suffering and I Can't Back Away... well, those might be a bit longer. Silent Suffering has the potential to go on at least for another 5 or 6 chapters - at absolute minimum estimates. I Can't Back Away will probably have another two chapters... and then I have to finish my threesome of Genis/Mithos stories (Dying Soul, Returning Hearts, and Blissful Mind)... not to mention my uncensored works on AFF for Tales of Symphonia and Fire Emblem and Growlanser II...  
By the way, I know I never sent a lot of people the link to the uncensored version. Some of you found it by yourselves, but either way, go to http/adultfan. (WARNING: This site is not for minors under 17) and go look me up (Genis Irving) - on my profile you'll find it  
And by the by the way, I've done Zelos' history in here. Seeing as how I actually have never seen Zelos' conversation at Flanoir, I can't well remember what happens, but I tried my best. So, ah, SPOLIERS for this chapter.

--5: Lloyd's Decision--

Everybody was having a tough time, with Zelos having been injured by Sheena. She ended up under heavy fire from everybody else for acting so rashly, but when Zelos forgave her, everybody calmed down somewhat. Zelos had said that he had more than likely deserved it, after all - and apologised even more profusely to Lloyd for having accidentally flirted with Sheena once or twice, purely by accident. And surprisingly to everybody, Lloyd had forgiven him.

Zelos ended up spending a couple of days in his room in Meltokio, being tended to by Sebastian, who had dealt with things like this involving the Chosen so often that it was really becoming quite routine and was quite good at treating injuries like this. He had to, since Raine steadfastly refused, perhaps because of all the pain he had caused the others.

"If he suffers a bit for all the pain he's caused Sheena, Colette, and my little brother, well, he deserves it," Raine said, calmly, when Lloyd had asked.

Although Lloyd had, at first, freaked out about Sheena's attack, the injuries that Zelos had suffered weren't very severe at all. However, a twisted ankle and badly rotated arm just needed to be rested up a couple days - a couple days that Lloyd mostly ended up spending by Zelos' side, chatting about Zelos' past.

Lloyd hadn't spent much time with Zelos leading up to this point, and he learned a lot about the chosen he hadn't known. He learned about Zelos' relationship with his sister Seles - the spiteful girl that Zelos really did care for. Zelos, apparently, often dreamed that he could give up his chosen title to Seles, because he knew that that would make her very happy.

Unfortunately, he also learned about Zelos' mother. The story that Zelos recounted to Lloyd about her would forever change the bond they shared.

"You know I grew up in Flanoir?" Zelos spoke of the frozen city to the Northwest, practically on the exact other side of the world from Meltokio. "It's a beautiful city. But... I don't like to go there anymore. I know my mother's grave is there and everything, but..."

"But what?"

"Well," Zelos shook his head, trying to clear the memories - and just gave up and let them out. "I remember how every day I used to play in the snow when I was a little boy, with my sister. Mother would watch over us carefully, making sure we didn't hurt ourselves, and we never did..."

"What happened?" Lloyd inquired, curious.

"...One day... one day, Lloyd, I was there, playing with my sister. We were trying to build snowmen, as fast as we could. A snowman building speed contest. Mother was watching from behind, I remember, I could sense her pleased smile. She knew me and Seles didn't really get along overly well, because of the fact that I was Chosen and Seles wasn't, but at times like this me and Seles didn't care. But there we were, playing in the snow..."

"I'm reaching behind me to grab at the pile behind me, which is being constantly restocked by the soft crystals falling from above. I'm so engrossed in trying to beat Seles that I don't even really notice that she's already way ahead of me. With a cry of joy, I turn my head to see her, my hand still working on the snow, and she smiles, telling me she's won. And then she falls silent. I wonder why, and I slowly turn back to my snowman, wondering if something was wrong with it, as my hand kept packing more and more snow on.

"The snow that I was packing on, now, was the same red colour as fresh blood. I... I remember being confused for a few moments, and then I was being pulled away by somebody, into the life I knew here... I remember seeing Seles getting dragged away too... and... and I remember seeing my mother's body... she had been killed, right behind me..."

At this point, Zelos started to cry a bit, and it was unusual for Lloyd to see the chosen crying, so he drew the bishonen into his arms and held onto him for a while, until Zelos recovered.

Seeing that side of Zelos, that memory, it gave Lloyd a brand new look at the pervert who was before him, gave him a better look into his mind. It was confusing, trying to link up that sad image of the young Zelos with the one he knew today, but slowly Lloyd was able to understand how it made the Zelos he knew today.

The Zelos he was certain he was in love with.

Once Zelos had finally calmed down, he had been really tired, and before he drifted off in Lloyd's arms, he smiled faintly. "You know... I've never told anybody that story. Not even Sebastian..."

"Why me, then?"

"Because I really love you, Lloyd... and I can trust you," Zelos told him, smiling wearily.

"...Are you... serious?" Lloyd blinked, a bit amazed.

"Yes, Lloyd, I'm being serious," Zelos smiled. "Normally, anybody that I fell for... would have been replaced by now. But you, you're different. You're... you're somebody special to me. I don't think I'd trade you to have back everybody I've been with up to this point, and that's not something I've ever said before... I really, really love you, Lloyd..." Zelos mused, slowly falling asleep.

Lloyd smiled down at him. "I really love you too, Zelos," were the last words Zelos heard before he fell asleep.

* * *

When Lloyd returned to the inn, while Zelos slept peacefully, his friends were all awaiting him.

"He should be getting much better by now, shouldn't he?" Raine asked, slightly a little worried and a little guilty now for having left Zelos like that - but not enough to speed up the process herself yet.

"He's better," Lloyd nodded, his tone more serious. "...He just needs to rest, I think."

"That's good to hear," Raine smiled, slightly, though beside her Genis couldn't quite look Lloyd in the eye.

Lloyd nodded, and an odd silence fell over the group.

"This isn't like you, Lloyd," Regal, to everybody's surprise, broke the silence.

"Huh?"

"These last couple of days, when you've had the chance to come home, you've been talking about Zelos a lot," Regal mentioned. "And now, suddenly, you're subdued."

"Well, umm... I'm just tired..." Lloyd lied.

"You do not sound tired," Presea stated, in her mostly-emotionless tone, "Please, do not lie to us."

"...He really trusts me," Lloyd said, looking down at the ground, eyes closed.

"...What?" Sheena blinked.

"Something he told me, back there... he told me... secrets, things he hadn't told anybody," Lloyd said, quietly, his eyes still shut.

"And that makes you think he trusts you?" Sheena asked.

"It's because... it's because he really loves me," Lloyd looked at her.

"...And I suppose he told you some sappy lie about how you're the only thing he cares about, and..."

"And there are some things you can't lie about," Lloyd answered, quietly. "I know, you don't want to believe it... but... if you had heard his words, you would have believed it too," he gazed softly at Sheena, shaking his head.

"..." Sheena fell silent. It was true, she hadn't heard the words - but obviously, they meant a lot to Lloyd. Still, she couldn't just sit back and watch, and...

"Sheena, maybe you should try to be nicer to Zelos," Colette spoke, surprising Sheena. "I know he's a bit of a... well, a bit of a jerk sometimes, but you and I both know he's got a really good heart in there somewhere. It was probably only a matter of time until he really found somebody special, and that that person happened to be Lloyd, well, that's just the way destiny works," she smiled.

"Colette..." Lloyd blinked, surprised she was so supportive.

"I don't... I don't want to say that I'm perfectly happy about this, Lloyd, because I know that would be a lie," Colette admitted, "And you don't like lies. But I've stopped being mad about it. I'm happy for you, Lloyd, and for Zelos. And maybe someday I'll find somebody special like you were to me, once."

"...Thanks, Colette," Lloyd smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear that you're okay with it. I... I want to stay with Zelos, but I always felt so guilty knowing you guys were all against it and hated me for it..."

"Well," Sheena spoke up, "If Colette's willing to forgive you, I probably should too. I mean, all my experiences with Zelos in the past were bad, but... Colette's right. He's a good guy, somewhere in there."

Lloyd smiled at Sheena. "Thanks, Sheena," he smiled. That was two-thirds of the weight lifted off of his shoulders. But there was still the heaviest there, and he slowly turned to face Genis, and everybody fell silent. Raine had backed away from the boy a bit, leaving him alone. He was still looking at the ground, not really moving, silent except for a sniffle or two.

"As long as... as you're happy, Lloyd," Genis finally spoke up, finding his voice again after a couple of days of him barely speaking. He couldn't quite look up at Lloyd, but was finally trying.

"G-Genis..." Lloyd slowly walked over to his friend, and kneeled down, so he was at eye level with the other as the youth finally managed to look at the object of his affection.

"As long as you're happy, Lloyd, that's okay," Genis smiled. "I love you. And... since I really, truly love you, I just want you to be happy... even if that means that it's not with me. I mean...," he sniffed a bit, and couldn't quite find the words for what he really meant.

"Genis..." Lloyd pulled the other boy into a hug, and Genis managed another faint smile. "Thanks. That means a lot to me. And you know, we'll always be the best of friends, right?"

"Of course, Lloyd..." Genis smiled, as he hugged Lloyd back. "Besides, somebody needs to make sure you don't do something stupid."

Lloyd laughed a little. "You dolt," he joked a bit.

"Idiot."

"Squirt."

Though normally the name calling wouldn't have been taken as such, something about doing it was getting a massive weight off of their chests, and by the time Genis had managed to run Lloyd out of 'friendly' insults, the two were practically laughing, just like old times.

And then the door swung open, and Zelos - looking a bit tired, mind you - walked in, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry I slept so late..." he giggled. "Where have you been, Lloydie? And... what did I miss?"

Lloyd just smiled, walked over, and kissed Zelos deeply, wrapping his arms around his love. And much to the Chosen's shock, this was met by applause from everybody.

* * *

A/n: That's it, the end of the story! Wow, I can't believe how easy that actually was for me to write once I got going - not to mention that it only ended up taking one chapter to end this story! Anyway, the NC-17 ending chapter (Or perhaps chapters, there's more stuff to take care of... things are more complex!) should be put up sometime soon. And like I said earlier, it will have a different ending from the one you've seen here. That one more extends on the Genis/Zelos/Lloyd love triangle that's going on. But of course you minors shouldn't read it (though I can't honestly stop you, if that's what you really want to do, but I can't take responsibility because you've been warned).  
Anyway, thank you to my 80-or-so reviewers! I'd love to take time to thank you all personally, but honestly, the list would probably double this chapter in length, and then people would feel cheated that half the length of the final chapter is 'reviewer responses'. This story takes the cake for my most reviewed ever, though... at least, in the four short chapters it's been up, anyway (I technically co-author 'Fire Emblem: The Parody' which is at over 25 chapters and way past 100 reviews, but we didn't have a fraction of those reviews after only 4 chapters).  
Err... thank you again! And... goodnight!

Lloyd and Zelos: (wave goodbye as they share a final kiss)  
Genis Irving: (Is bopped on head with a Genis plushie)

We interrupt this peaceful ending for an interesting bulletin!

I There may be more Night To Think On to come...  
I know it sounds really crazy, but as I was writing the closing remarks, I was suddenly hit with the realisation that there is still a couple of things left to do about the later game - more specifically, the scenes involving Zelos at the Tower of Salvation near the end of the game! That's right - once I finish AFF's NtTO, I may very well decide to continue the story! Cheers all around, people!  
Lloyd and Zelos: Cheers  
Genis: (Whining) You're making me do more angst! Oh, comeon! Didn't I already do enough acting! You haven't even paid me for the first part, and...  
(Genis is glomped by a flying Mithos and taken into another room)  
...Anyway, yeah! I can't promise anything, but if my muse stays like it did the night I wrote this final chapter... well, you can hope for the best!

Fin

Genis Irving (with, admittedly, the help of a kawaii neko-Genis muse, and his other various bishie muses)


End file.
